Method of making fabric cylinders



July 25, 1950 w. BISHOP 2,516,612

METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC CYLINDERS Original Filed Nov. 7, 1947 4 Sheets-Shqet 1 awe WM WALTER BISHOP y 5, 1950 w. BISHOP 2,516,612

METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC CYLINDERS Original Filed Nov. 7, 194'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I8 24 I7\ 22 I9 64 67 as 57 63 l July 25, 1950 w. BISHOP METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC CYLINDERS Original Filed Nov. 7, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR WALTER BISHOP 'July 25, 1950 w. BISHOP 2,516,612

METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC CYLINDERS Original Filed Nov. 7, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HOa INVENTQR WALTER BISHOP I05 IIO erbium,

Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED METHOD OF MAKING FABRIC CYLINDERS Walter Bishop, Augress, Mich., assignor to Fraser Products Company, Alpena, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application November 7, 1947, Serial No.

784,566. Divided and this application Decemher 15, 1949, Serial No. 133,039

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a process for securing together the longitudinal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of fabric to form a cylinder.

In the manufacture of certain fabric products, such as seat covers, for example, .a great quantity of coated binding tape is required. It is a well established fact among persons familiar with the use of fabrics that best results are obtained with binding tape cut on the bias. It is also established in the art that such bias binding tape can be most economically made by effecting a spiral or helical cut in a cylinder of fabric whose warp threads are longitudinally disposed with respect to said cylinder.

According to present methods said cylinder of fabric is produced by sewing together the longitudinal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of fabric with a belt stitch. However, after the strip of bias tape has been cut from said cylinder and is being used, it has been found that said tape is weak and unsightly at those points where such stitching appears. Consequently, some new method has been sought by which said parallel edges of a sheet of fabric could be secured together other than by stitching.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a process by means of which the longitudinal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of coated fabric may be joined together in a stronger and more attractive manner than by stitching.

A further object of this invention is to provide a process, as aforesaid," whereby the joint between the two said parallel edges may be made invisible. v I

Other objects and purposes, not specifically mentioned above, will become apparent to persons familiar with this general type of process upon examination of the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following specification.

In order to meet the above objects and purposes, as well as othersincidental thereto and associated therewith, I have conceived a process in which the longitudinal, substantiallyparallel edges of a sheet or stripof coated fabric may be joined together with a strip of tape to form a cylinder of said fabric. The cylinder is then flattened and the air within said cylinder is expelled to insure its remaining flat, after which a substance similar to the coating on said fabric is applied to the joint and caused to harden. After said substance upon said joint has reached a desired state of firmness, it is exposed to suitable embossing means which gives said covered joint the same appearance as the rest of the coated fabric and thereby entirely hides the joint.

For an illustration of a preferred embodiment of one, but .by no means the only, machine whereby said process may be carried out, attention is directed to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a partially broken side elevation view of the machine to which this invention relates.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the machine shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is cross-sectional view of Figure'l taken along the line III-J11.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of taken along the line IV-IV.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 2 taken alon the line V-V.

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line VI--VI Figure 2 of Figure 2.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary, oblique view of the fabric joining portion of the machine including a piece of fabric.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary, oblique view of substantially the same portion of the machine shown in Figure 7, but without the fabric.

Figure 9 is a left end elevation view of the machine as appearing in Figure 1.

Figure 10 is a section taken on the line X-X of Figure 9.

' Construction and 2, rotatably supports a roll M of coated fabric whose edges l5 and "5 are to be joined together.

In order to simplify the following description, the right end of the machine as appearing in Figure 1 will be referred to as the rightward end or as the forward end, and the left end of the machine will be referred to as the leftward, end or as the rearward end. -The ends of the joining section If], appearing in Figure 2, will also similarly be referred to as leftward and rightward ends, respectively.

Although the process to which this invention relates will be hereinafter described and disclosed as applying to a fabric having a, coated surface in order to illustrate the entire process and machine, it will be clearly understood that section Ill of the machine, which joins the parallel edges and It of said fabric 14 together, may be applicable to any type of fabric whether coated or not. It will be further understood that although the coating on said fabric I4 is hereinafter referred to as pyroxylin, said coating may be any conveniently soluble coating substance presently in use.

A long tube ll, which is preferably made from a sturdy material such as steel or aluminum and is longitudinally disposed with respect to the joining section in of the machine, is supported at one extremity by means of a first crossbar l8. Said tube is also supported midway between its extremities, by a second crossbar l9 which is attached to said frame l2 by means of the tie bar 22.- Said crossbars l8 and i9 and the tie bar 22 which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube ll and the joining section [0, may be made from any suitable material such as structural iron angles or channels, or wood as aforesaid.

The unsupported or free end 23 of the tube ll, remote from that extremity supported by the crossbar I8, is unsupported in any way beyond the crossbar IS. The horizontal, side angle member 24, which is substantially parallel with and at about the sameheight as the tube ll, is preferably a much larger angle iron than the remaining frame members andis approximately the same length as the tube l1. Said side angle member 24, which is supported at both ends upon legs 25 and 2B of any convenient type is perpendicularly engaged at its rightward end by an end of the crossbar l8, and is perpendicularly engaged intermediate its extremities by the end of the tie bar 22 remote from the tube ll.

The leftward end of said side angle member 24 as appearing in Figure 2, is perpendicularly engaged by a horizontal end angle member 28 of shorter length but preferably the same size structural angle as the side angle member. That end of said end angle member 28, remote from said side angle member 24, is provided with an end plate 29.

An upper pressure wheel shaft 32, which lies adjacent to and approximately arallel with said is rotatably supported-with end anglemember 28, in a suitable opening in the end plate 25 and by a pair of standard bearings 33 and 3-4. The outboard bearing 34 is mounted upon the leftward end of said side angle member 24 and the inboard bearing 33 is mounted upon a base plate35 which plate is in turn secured to said end angle member 28 adjacent to said side angle member 24, in any convenient, conventional manner.

The end of said shaft 32, which extends through the end plate 29, supports an upper pressure wheel 36 preferably, but not necessarily exactly, directly over the longitudinal axis of the said tube IT. The end of said shaft 32, remote from said wheel 36, extends beyond the outboard bearing 34 where it supports a driven gear pinion 3! and a driving gear pinion 38.

The driven gear pinion 3'! is engaged by a suitable chain 39 which chain also engages the driving gear 42 of an appropriate gear box 43. Said 4 gear box, which may be supported upon a bracket 2? attached to the leftward leg 26 of the frame in any suitable manner, is driven by a motor 44 through any appropriate means such as by the V-belt drive 45.

The driving gear pinion 38 is engaged by a suitable chain 46, which chain also engages and drives the driven gear 4?, which gear is located adjacent to the rightward end of said side angle member 24. The gear 41 is mounted upon and rotatable with a stub shaft 48 between the conventional bearings 5i and 52. Said bearings 5. and 52 are supported upon a bracket 53 which is secured to the rightward side angle leg 25.

A drive shaft 54 is supported at one end by a bearing 55 (Figure 5) mounted on the rightward side angle leg 2'5, and is supported at its other end within a pair of suitable bushed diametrically opposed openings in the rightward end of the tube H. A gear pinion 56 is secured to and rotatable with the end of said shaft 54 extending beyond the bearing 55 and is so positioned that it is engaged by the chain 46, said chain thus being adjustably supported by the pinion 4l and driving the pinion 56.

A gear pinion 57 is mounted upon, and rotatable with, that portion of the shaft 54 within the tube ll near the rightward end thereof. As shown in Figures 4, 6 and 8, a lower pressure Wheel shaft 58 is horizontally and rotatably mounted within suitable bearings in the unsupported end 23 of the tube H. A slot 531s provided in the top of said tube ll, longitudinally disposed therewith and adjacent to said lower pres sure wheel shaft 58. 1

A lower pressurewheel 6! is affixed uponand rotatable with said shaft 58, directly in line with the slot 59, so that the upper peripheral surface of said lower wheel 6| will extend through said slot 59 for engagement with the lower peripheral surface of said upper wheel 36.

A gear pinion 62 (Figure 6) is secured to and rotatable with the shaft 58, within the tube H and adjacent to the lower wheel Bl. Said gear pinion 62 is engaged by and driven by a chain 63 (Figure 4), which chain also engages, and is in turn driven by, the gear pinion 51.

It will be understood that the gear pinions, chains and other drive devices hereinabove specifically mentioned are so mentioned for illustrative purposes only. It will be obvious to persons familiar with this general type of equipment that many, well known variations may be introduced into the drive and transmission system hereinbefore and hereinafter described without departing materially, if any, from the scope of the invention.

A tape guide wheel 64 is rotatably supported in any convenient manner upon ashaft 65 within the tube H, in line with and adjacent to said lower wheel 61. Said guide wheel is also in line with. and directly below the slot 59, and is inboard of the lower wheel 58 with respect to the leftward, or unsupported, end of the tube ll.

Suitable tape 66, which may be taken from a roll 67 appropriately supported upon the frame I2, is fed through the tube ll, under the guide wheel 64 and thence up and between the pressure wheels 36 and GI.

A fabric guide plate 68 (Figures 4, 7 and 8) is secured in any convenient manner, such as by bolting, to the top of said tube I! so that the guide finger 69 extends into the region between the pressure wheels 36 and BI, but not the nip thereof, as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. An

8 elongated opening II is provided imam guide plate 68 in line with saidguide finger 69, a'r'i'd'is so positioned that it rests directly over that portion of the slot 59 above thetape'guide wheel 64. Thus, the feed of the tape 66 on the guide wheel 64 may be observed during the operation of the machine through the opening 'II and the'slot 59.

A vertical flange I2 is provided at the end of the finger 69 next to but not in contactwith the said pressure wheels 36 and 6|. Said flange I2 is preferable on a line between the center of the engaging portionof the pressure wheels and the centerline of the opening II. Thus, the edges I and I6 of the fabric being made into a cylinder are brought against opposite sides of the flange I2 just before these edges feed between the pressure wheels 36 and 9I. The tape 66,'which is provided with a suitable pressure responsive type of adhesive on one side, is fed between the fabric and the lower pressure roll with the adhesive side against the fabric where the seam is created.

A pair of air ejecting rolls, indicated in Figures l, 4 and Gas the upper roll I3 and lower roll I4, are rotatably supported by means of standard bearings I5 upon a pair ofconventional angle iron uprights I6 adjacent to the unsupported end 23 of the'tube II. Said uprights I6 may be secured to the frame I2 of the joining section by any suitable means such as the braces 11.

The air ejecting rolls I3 and I4 are positioned so that there is enough clearance between their opposed surfaces to pass with ease thefabric cylinder made on said joining section while at the same time squeezing out any air from within the collapsed cylinder. Roll I4 may be, driven by a prime mover I8 and drive as appearing in Figures 2 and 6. I

Resurfacing section After the edges I5 and I6 of the said fabric have been secured together by the-tape 66 as above described, a visible seam89 remains in the resultant cylinder of fabric 8| I (Figure 7). The resurfacing section H, hereinafter'described in detail, conceals said seam 89.

' Said resurfacing section II is comprised of a drying loft 82, shown in Figures l, 3 and 9, to which is attached the coating fluid container "83 and the embossing mechanism 94. Said drying loft 82 may be a vertical, rectangular shaft, substantially as shown, in which the side sheets 95 are supported by two'front-corner posts 85 and two rear corner posts 81. Said corner posts may be made of any suitable material, such as structural angles, which may be braced'with additional structural brace angles 88. .The side'sheets 35 may be made of any suitable sheet material such as pressed wood, plywood or the like. The height of the drying loft is determinedb'y the time required to obtain the requisite drying," or other hardening, of the fabric coating .as l'iereinafter provided A, '1

Electric drying lamps-99 '(Figure 10')'=are suitably energized and mounted atapproprite positions throughout the length of the loft on the inside of the front and rearward walls thereof for the purpose of applying 'a drying heat 'tdthe seam of the fabric cylinder BI after ithasbeen treated with a suitable coating fluid along'the seam89.

The loft 82 is provided'with a feed-in roll 89 Figuresl and 3) which is' 'rotatably mounted up-= on the said front corner posts 89 by means of the conventional bearings 91 on approximat'elythe same level with the upper airejectin rolli'lt'. A

6 feed-out roll 92 is rotatably mounted upon the rear corner posts 91 by means of the conv'entional bearings 93, preferably at the same level as-the feed-in roll 89.

A first top guide roll-94, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, is rotatably supported at one upper corner of the loft 82 by any suitable means, such as the standard bearings which are mounted in a conventional manner upon the structural brace angles 88. A second top guide roll 94a, similar to the first top guide roll, is similarly mounted at the other upper corner of the loft. These two rolls are positioned to space the fabric cylinder as desired from said lamps 99.

The feed-in and feed-out rolls 89 and 92, re- 'spectively, may be driven by an electric motor 96 '(Figure 9) through suitable transmission means '91 such as a V-belt drive.

t The feed-in roll 89, feed-out roll 92 and t'op feed rolls 94 and 94a may all be fabricated similarly to each other. As illustrated inFigures 3 and 9, these feed rolls", which are mounted substantially parallel to each other, are each comprised of a roll shaft 98, a center angle "support 'disk 99, two end angle support disks I99 and two sets of gripping angles, I92.

In this particular embodiment of the inven tion, the support disks 99 and I99 are securedto and rotatable with said shaft 98. The gripping angles I92, which are provided in two sets of equal lengths for each roll, are each secured as by weld,- ing at their extremities to the middle disk 99 and one end disk I99. Sufficient space is left between the adjacent ends of the two sets of gripping angles I92, where they engage the center disk 99. to allow the freshly coated seam portion of the fabric cylinder to pass over said feed rolls without being contacted thereby during the drying process. It will be recognized, of course, that the .upper guide rolls 94 and 94a, do not need this space, but for convenience in repair and replacement it is still desirable to have all four rolls the same.

r The embossing mechanism 94 is comprised of support legs I93 and cross brace angles I94 which tie said legs I93 to the rear corner postsIl'I. A backing roll I95 is rotatably supported upon said :cross brace angles I94 by means of appropriate bearings I96.

An embossing roll W1 is rotatably supported upon a pair of bearings I98, directly above and parallel with said backing roll I95. Each of said bearings I99 is mounted upon a structural angle I99 near one end thereof. The opposite ends of *said structural angles- I99 arepivotally secured, bne each, to the rear corner posts!" so that said angles I99 are substantially parallel andhori- 'zontal when the embossing disk I I I and the backing disk IIZ, respectively, of the said'embossing and backing rolls are in operating position.-

The embossing'roll I91 (Figures 3 and 9) :may be comprised of a shaft H3, said'embossing disk I I I, centrally located'upon'said shaft, anda pair of drive rolls I I4, one on either side of said embossing disk III and of sufiiciently less diameter than said disk to insure firm embossing but without destroying the tight grip of said drive rolls. Said disk I I I is preferably provided with a heating unit I [5 adjacent thereto.

The backing roll I95 (Figures 1 and 9) is com prised of a shaft I I6, a backing disk I I.2,"centrally located upon said shaft, a pair of enddisks I l9a, spaced from and arranged on either side of'said 35 backing disk II2,and twossets of drive angles H which are secured, as by welding, to said backing disk I I2 and the end disks l Illa.

Resilient means, such as the coiled springs HT and center rods H8, which are anchored upon said cross brace angles it'll engage said structural angles Hi9 about midway between their extremities and tend to augment gravity in holding said embossing disk HI down against said backing disk H2. When said disks ill and H2 are engaged, there is sufficient clearance between said drive rolls H4 and said backing roll [05 to permit the free passage of the cylinder of fabric which is being resurfaced but with suificiently firm engagement by said rolls for reliable driving.

The embossing roll shaft H3 and the backing roll shaft are synchronously driven by any suitable means such as an electric motor and gear or chain drive mechanism similar to the other drive mechanism used herein.

The coating fluid container 83 (Figure 1) which may be any convenient, conventional dispenser, is preferably supported upon said drying loft 82 between the two front corner posts so that the fluid contained in said dispenser may flow through a-suitable spout 120, wherefrom a controlled discharge may be had onto the visible seam 8G in the fabric cylinder Bl as said cylinder leaves the air ejecting rolls l3 and 74.

Operation Preliminary adjustments of the machine, whose construction has been hereinabove disclosed, include providing appropriate spacing between the pressure wheels 36 and SI, and between the air ejecting rolls l3 and 14. The tape St is placed under the guide wheel 64 and passed up between the pressure wheels 36 and 6!. The fabric is drawn from the roll l4 below the cross bars I8 and I9, and the edges l5 and it of said fabric are brought up over the sides of the guide plate 68 until they bear against opposite sides of the vertical flange 12 and are held between the pressure wheels 36 and BI.

The electric motor 44 may be then energized, thereby actuating the gear box 43 through the V-belt drive 45. The upper pressure wheel 36 is driven by said gear box 43 through the chain 39 and the shaft 32. The lower pressure wheel BI is driven through the pinion 33 on the shaft 32, the chain 46, the pinion 56, the shaft 54, the pinion 51, the chain 63, the pinion B2 and the shaft 58 as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 6. The pinions, shafts and chain are selected so that said upper and lower pressure wheels will rotate at the same peripheral speed.

The fabric is fed between said pressure wheels 36 and Si and the air ejecting rolls 13 and H until there is a suilicient length of the completed, but flattened, fabric cylinder to pass under the feed-in roll 89, up the forward side of the loft 82 over the top feed rolls 9'4 and 95a back down the rearward side of the loft 82 and beneath the feed-out roll 92, and between the embossing roll I01 and the backing roll I05. The electric motor 44 is preferably stopped, and the seam forming part advanced by hand, while the fabric cylinder is initiallythreaded through the loft 82, and the embossing rolls as aforesaid.

The entire machine is now set into operation, which includes actuation of said pressure wheels, said feed-in and feed-out rolls, said embossing and. backing rolls and said fluid dispenser. An operator is required to feed the edges l5 and [6 of the fabric against opposite sides of the flange '12 while another operator may dispose of the fabric cylinder 8! as it leaves the embossing and backing rolls I01 and l 05, such disposition usually being folding into a receiving box but it may involve winding by hand or automatically onto a suitable reel.

The edges i5 and ii of the fabric on the roll M are held together by a strip of tape 66 which has pressure sensitive adhesive on that side which engages said fabric. The pressure wheels 36 and iii press the butted edges l5 and i6 against said tape 66. As the resultant cylinder of fabric 8| leaves said pressure wheels, it passes between the air ejecting rolls l3 and M where substantially all of the air in said cylinder is squeezed back towards said pressure wheels and the cylinder is fully collapsed.

As the collapsed cylinder moves from the air ejecting rolls to the feed-in roll 89, it passes beneath the dispenser 83 where a coating of the fluid held therein is applied through the spout I20 to the said fabric cylinder along the visible seam 80 thereon. This fluid may be any fluid which will amalgamate with the coating on the fabric to provide a perfectly smooth, seam concealing, coating and will carry a suitable quantity of coloring pigment similar to that in the coating. For a pyroxylin coating, the fluid will be pyroxylin and a solvent such as acetone. The said fluid coating, which covers said seam, is caused to dry, or otherwise harden, as desired while the collapsed cylinder passes up and down through the loft 82 past the said electric heating lamps around the feed rolls 89,. 94, 94a and 92. The applied seam concealing coating, by the time it reaches the embossing roll [(11, is dried enough to be firm but not too hard to receive an embossing impression.

The embossing disk III is provided with the necessary markings to effect an impression in the coating on said seam 80, which causes the coated portion to resemble the remainder of the fabric and the seam thus to be completely concealed. The heating element l l5, acting through the embossing disk, completes the hardening of the coating.

Persons acquainted with the. type of process herein disclosed will be able to recognize many ways in which the particular machine described may be altered, modified or otherwise revised without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it will be clearly understood that such alterations modifications and revisions become a part of this invention unless specifically stated to the contrary in the hereinafter appended claims- This application is a division of application, Serial No. 784,566, filed November 7, 1947, now Patent No. 2,506,916.

I claim:

1. In a process for securing together the horizontal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of fabric coated and embossed on one side thereof, to form a fabric cylinder therefrom, the steps comprising: engaging the parallel, longitudinal edges of said sheet with each other without overlapping; overlappingly contacting said sheet on the side thereof opposite said coating adjacent both such edges with a pressure sensitive tape and applying an adhering pressure, whereby to form the sheet into a cylinder; flattening said cylinder and expelling substantially all air therefrom; applying to said sheet on the coated side thereof and adjacent both said edges a quantity of liquid coating material employing a: volatile solvent and amalgamatable with said coating, said quantity being sufficient to cover and conceal the line of discontinuity between said edges; passing said flattened cylinder over rollers and past heating elements for volatilizing said solvent; controlling the degree of such volatilizing that said coating material is plastic after passing said heating elements; embossing said plastic coating material to match the pattern in the remainder of the coated side of the sheet and simultaneously completing the volatilizing of said solvent, whereby the discontinuity will be completely hidden and yet a strong and flexible seam will be provided.

2. In a process for securing together the horizontal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of fabric coated and embossed on one side thereof, to form a fabric cylinder therefrom, the steps comprising: engaging the parallel, longitudinal edges of said sheet with each other without overlapping; overlappingly contacting said sheet on the side thereof opposite said coating adjacent both such edges with a pressure sensitive tape and applying an adhering pressure, whereby to form the sheet into a cylinder; applying to said sheet on the coated side thereof and on both of said edges a quantity of liquid coating material employing a volatile solvent and amalgamatable with said coating, said quantity being sufficient to cover and conceal the line of discontinuity between said edges; volatilizing said solvent until said coating material becomes plastic; passing said flattened cylinder over rollers and past heating elements for volatilizing said solvent; controlling the degree of such volatilizing that said coating material is plastic but not fluid after passing said heating elements; embossing said plastic coating material to match the pattern in the remainder of the coated side of the sheet, and simultaneously completing the volatilizing of said solvent, whereby the discontinuity will be completely hidden and yet a strong and flexible seam will be provided.

3. In a process for securing together the horizontal, substantiall parallel edges of a sheet of fabric coated and embossed on one side thereof, to form a fabric cylinder therefrom, the steps comprising: engaging the parallel, longitudinal edges of said sheet with each other without overlapping; overlappingly contacting said sheet on the side thereof opposite said coating adjacent both such edges with a pressure sensitive tape and applying an adhering pressure, whereby to form the sheet into a cylinder; applying to said sheet on the coated side thereof and adjacent both said edges a quantity of liquid coating employing a volatile solvent amalgalamtable with said coating, said quantity being suflicient to cover and conceal the line of discontinuity between said edges; volatilizing said solvent while controlling the degree of such volatilization that said coating material becomes plastic; embossing said plastic coating material to match the pattern in the remainder of the coated side of the sheet and simultaneously completing the volatilizing of said solvent whereby the discontinuity between said parallel edges will be completely hidden and yet a strong and flexible seam will be provided.

4. In a process for securing together the horizontal, substantially parallel edges of a sheet of fabric coated and embossed on one side thereof, to form a fabric cylinder therefrom, the steps comprising: engaging the parallel, longitudinal edges of said sheet with each other without overlapping; overlappingly contacting said sheet on the side thereof opposite said coating adjacent both such edges with a pressure sensitive tape and applying an adhering pressure, whereby to form said sheet into a cylinder; applying to said sheet on the coated side thereof and opposite said tape a quantity of hardenable liquid coating material which is amalgamatable with said coating, said quantity being suflicient to cover and conceal the line of discontinuity between said edges; hardening said coating material until it becomes plastic; embossing said plastic coating material to match the pattern in the remainder of the coated side of the sheet, and simultaneously completing the hardening of said coating material, whereby the discontinuity will be completely hidden and yet a strong and flexible seam will be provided.

WALTER BISHOP.

No references cited. 

